Ritanserin, a potent serotonin 2A receptor antagonist, represses MEK/ERK signalling pathway to restore PAX6 production and function in aniridia-like cellular model.

Aniridia is a panocular inherited rare eye disease linked to heterozygous mutations on the PAX6 gene, which fail to properly produce sufficient protein essential for normal eye development and function. Most of the patients suffer from aniridia-related keratopathy, a progressive opacification of the cornea. There is no effective treatment for this blinding disease. Here we screen for small compounds and identified Ritanserin, a serotonin 2A receptor antagonist, that can rescue PAX6 haploinsufficiency of mutant limbal cells, defective cell migration and PAX6-target gene expression. We further demonstrated that Ritanserin activates PAX6 production through the selective inactivation of the MEK/ERK signaling pathway. Our data strongly suggest that repurposing this therapeutic molecule could be effective in preventing or treating existing blindness by restoring corneal transparency.

Kynurenic acid, a key L-tryptophan-derived metabolite, protects the heart from an ischemic damage.

BACKGROUND: Renal injury induces major changes in plasma and cardiac metabolites. Using a small- animal in vivo model, we sought to identify a key metabolite whose levels are significantly modified following an acute kidney injury (AKI) and to analyze whether this agent could offer cardiac protection once an ischemic event has occurred. METHODS AND RESULTS: Metabolomics profiling of cardiac lysates and plasma samples derived from rats that underwent AKI 1 or 7 days earlier by 5/6 nephrectomy versus sham-operated controls was performed. We detected 26 differential metabolites in both heart and plasma samples at the two selected time points, relative to sham. Out of which, kynurenic acid (kynurenate, KYNA) seemed most relevant. Interestingly, KYNA given at 10 mM concentration significantly rescued the viability of H9C2 cardiac myoblast cells grown under anoxic conditions and largely increased their mitochondrial content and activity as determined by flow cytometry and cell staining with MitoTracker dyes. Moreover, KYNA diluted in the drinking water of animals induced with an acute myocardial infarction, highly enhanced their cardiac recovery according to echocardiography and histopathology. CONCLUSION: KYNA may represent a key metabolite absorbed by the heart following AKI as part of a compensatory mechanism aiming at preserving the cardiac function. KYNA preserves the in vitro myocyte viability following exposure to anoxia in a mechanism that is mediated, at least in part, by protection of the cardiac mitochondria. A short-term administration of KYNA may be highly beneficial in the treatment of the acute phase of kidney disease in order to attenuate progression to reno-cardiac syndrom and to reduce the ischemic myocardial damage following an ischemic event.

The antipsychotropic drug Duloxetine rescues PAX6 haploinsufficiency of mutant limbal stem cells through inhibition of the MEK/ERK signaling pathway.

Aniridia is a panocular disease causing progressive severe visual impairment and blindness due to PAX-6 haploinsufficiency. One of the most disabling ocular symptoms is aniridia-related keratopathy (ARK), a progressive corneal opacification due to epithelial impairment, vascular and conjunctival pathologies. There is currently no available treatment to prevent progressive visual loss. For this aim, we have used mutant limbal cells for phenotypic screening using FDA-approved and bio-actives drug library and found Duloxetine, a serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor used against severe depression as able to enhance endogenous PAX6 expression and target genes, which returned fairly to amounts found in normal limbal cells. In addition, Duloxetine could restore cell migration of the mutant cells. Furthermore, we show that Duloxetine activates PAX6 through inhibition of the ERK pathway on limbal mutant cells. This observation fits the recent report that MEK inhibitors enhance PAX6 in vivo, partially rescuing aniridia developmental phenotype of Pax6+/- mice. The discovery of an unique compound able to enhance PAX6 activity and that could be locally administered using eye drops associated with drug repurposing is expected to lead to rapid development of applicable drugs for the topical (eye drops) treatment of aniridia.

Continuous Inflammatory Stimulation Leads via Metabolic Plasticity to a Prometastatic Phenotype in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Cells.

Chronic inflammation promotes cancer progression by affecting the tumor cells and their microenvironment. Here, we demonstrate that a continuous stimulation (~6 weeks) of triple-negative breast tumor cells (TNBC) by the proinflammatory cytokines tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα) + interleukin 1ß (IL-1ß) changed the expression of hundreds of genes, skewing the cells towards a proinflammatory phenotype. While not affecting stemness, the continuous TNFα + IL-1ß stimulation has increased tumor cell dispersion and has induced a hybrid metabolic phenotype in TNBC cells; this phenotype was indicated by a transcription-independent elevation in glycolytic activity and by increased mitochondrial respiratory potential (OXPHOS) of TNBC cells, accompanied by elevated transcription of mitochondria-encoded OXPHOS genes and of active mitochondria area. The continuous TNFα + IL-1ß stimulation has promoted in a glycolysis-dependent manner the activation of p65 (NF-kB), and the transcription and protein expression of the prometastatic and proinflammatory mediators sICAM-1, CCL2, CXCL8 and CXCL1. Moreover, when TNBC cells were stimulated continuously by TNFα + IL-1ß in the presence of a glycolysis inhibitor, their conditioned media had reduced ability to recruit monocytes and neutrophils in vivo. Such inflammation-induced metabolic plasticity, which promotes prometastatic cascades in TNBC, may have important clinical implications in treatment of TNBC patients.

Persistent Inflammatory Stimulation Drives the Conversion of MSCs to Inflammatory CAFs That Promote Pro-Metastatic Characteristics in Breast Cancer Cells.

The pro-inflammatory cytokines tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα) and interleukin 1ß (IL-1ß) are expressed simultaneously and have tumor-promoting roles in breast cancer. In parallel, mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) undergo conversion at the tumor site to cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs), which are generally connected to enhanced tumor progression. Here, we determined the impact of consistent inflammatory stimulation on stromal cell plasticity. MSCs that were persistently stimulated by TNFα + IL-1ß (generally 14-18 days) gained a CAF-like morphology, accompanied by prominent changes in gene expression, including in stroma/fibroblast-related genes. These CAF-like cells expressed elevated levels of vimentin and fibroblast activation protein (FAP) and demonstrated significantly increased abilities to contract collagen gels. Moreover, they gained the phenotype of inflammatory CAFs, as indicated by the reduced expression of α smooth muscle actin (αSMA), increased proliferation, and elevated expression of inflammatory genes and proteins, primarily inflammatory chemokines. These inflammatory CAFs released factors that enhanced tumor cell dispersion, scattering, and migration; the inflammatory CAF-derived factors elevated cancer cell migration by stimulating the chemokine receptors CCR2, CCR5, and CXCR1/2 and Ras-activating receptors, expressed by the cancer cells. Together, these novel findings demonstrate that chronic inflammation can induce MSC-to-CAF conversion, leading to the generation of tumor-promoting inflammatory CAFs.

Antifungal activity, mode of action variability, and subcellular distribution of coumarin-based antifungal azoles.

Azole antifungals inhibit the biosynthesis of ergosterol, the fungal equivalent of cholesterol in mammalian cells. Here we report an investigation of the activity of coumarin-substituted azole antifungals. Screening against a panel of Candida pathogens, including a mutant lacking CYP51, the target of antifungal azoles, revealed that this enzyme is inhibited by triazole-based antifungals, whereas imidazole-based derivatives have more than one mode of action. The imidazole-bearing antifungals more effectively reduced trailing growth associated with persistence and/or recurrence of fungal infections than triazole-based derivatives. The imidazole derivatives were more toxic to mammalian cells and more potently inhibited the activity of CYP3A4, which is one of the main causes of azole toxicity. Using live cell imaging, we showed that regardless of the type of azole ring fluorescent 7-diethylaminocoumarin-based azoles localized to the endoplasmic reticulum, the organelle that harbors CYP51. This study suggests that the coumarin is a promising scaffold for development of novel azole-based antifungals that effectively localize to the fungal cell endoplasmic reticulum.

Drosophila melanogaster Mutated in its GBA1b Ortholog Recapitulates Neuronopathic Gaucher Disease.

Gaucher disease (GD) results from mutations in the GBA1 gene, which encodes lysosomal glucocerebrosidase (GCase). The large number of mutations known to date in the gene lead to a heterogeneous disorder, which is divided into a non-neuronopathic, type 1 GD, and two neurological, type 2 and type 3, forms. We studied the two fly GBA1 orthologs, GBA1a and GBA1b. Each contains a Minos element insertion, which truncates its coding sequence. In the GBA1am/m flies, which express a mutant protein, missing 33 C-terminal amino acids, there was no decrease in GCase activity or substrate accumulation. However, GBA1bm/m mutant flies presented a significant decrease in GCase activity with concomitant substrate accumulation, which included C14:1 glucosylceramide and C14:0 glucosylsphingosine. GBA1bm/m mutant flies showed activation of the Unfolded Protein Response (UPR) and presented inflammation and neuroinflammation that culminated in development of a neuronopathic disease. Treatment with ambroxol did not rescue GCase activity or reduce substrate accumulation; however, it ameliorated UPR, inflammation and neuroinflammation, and increased life span. Our results highlight the resemblance between the phenotype of the GBA1bm/m mutant fly and neuronopathic GD and underlie its relevance in further GD studies as well as a model to test possible therapeutic modalities.

Past1 Modulates Drosophila Eye Development.

Endocytosis is a multi-step process involving a large number of proteins, both general factors, such as clathrin and adaptor protein complexes, and unique proteins, which modulate specialized endocytic processes, like the EHD proteins. EHDs are a family of Eps15 Homology Domain containing proteins that consists of four mammalian homologs, one C. elegans, one Drosophila melanogaster and two plants orthologs. These membrane-associated proteins are involved in different steps of endocytic trafficking pathways. We have previously shown that the Drosophila EHD ortholog, PAST1, associates predominantly with the plasma membrane. Mutations in Past1 result in defects in endocytosis, male sterility, temperature sensitivity and premature death of the flies. Also, Past1 genetically interacts with Notch. In the present study, we investigated the role of PAST1 in the developing fly eye. In mutant flies lacking PAST1, abnormal differentiation of photoreceptors R1, R6 and R7 was evident, with partial penetrance. Likewise, five cone cells were present instead of four. Expression of transgenic PAST1 resulted in a dominant negative effect, with a phenotype similar to that of the deletion mutant, and appearance of additional inter-ommatidial pigment cells. Our results strongly suggest a role for PAST1 in differentiation of photoreceptors R1/R6/R7 and cone cells of the fly ommatidia.

Correction: Past1 Modulates Drosophila Eye Development.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0169639.].